Shambhala

Visiting prisoners inside Bangkwang central prison to help them establish a meditation practice and uplift their spirit by integrating purpose and meaning back into their lifes. When we have more volunteers, we\’d like to expand to Khlong Prem prison as well.

Location: Austin,Texas
Description: INSIDE MEDITATION is an umbrella organization to support and inform volunteers who teach meditation, Buddhism, Buddhist psychology, and Yoga in prisons near Austin, Texas. This project started at Austin Zen Center in 2002 but has expanded to include members of other Austin sanghas.
Teachers have come from AZC, the Shambala Center, Plum Blossom Sangha, Appamada (formerly Ordinary Mind), and Dharma Yoga. We maintain an elist and meet on an irregular basis. We also print copies of a meditation booklet called Doing Your Time with Peace of Mind. All volunteers are welcome to distribute copies of this booklet to their inmate students.
Prisons Served: Lockhart Prison (TDCJ), Travis County Correctional Facility at Del Valle, Bastrop Federal Correctional Institution.
Our website: austinzencenter.org
Outside Meditation is a program for ex-offenders living in the Austin, TX area. Outside Meditation is an extension of Inside Meditation, a program for the incarcerated, while in jail or prison in the Austin, TX area. They meet and both start/continue meditation practice on a weekly basis. Visit our website: http://outsidemeditation.org

Graduates of PMI’s Path of Freedom webinar run programs in several Eastern Massachusetts prisons.

This project is dedicated to fostering individual insight and compassion among Massachusetts’ inmates and prison staff. Transforming people’s minds and hearts through the practice of various mindfulness and awareness techniques is a first step toward positively transforming society.

Ratna Peace Initiative (RPI) works with incarcerated men and women nationwide. It offers a study of Buddhist texts integrated with mindfulness meditation. The program and practice are first taught either in an onsite visit, by using a text, or by video. A dialog through correspondence with an MPP educator follows. In 2014 we corresponded with over 360 inmates in 48 states, conducting on-going guidance for their spiritual practice and course work. Meditation is taught and practiced as a discipline for those interested in Buddhism and also is a useful secular way for anyone to develop peacefulness and understanding, regardless of their background or religious affiliation.